Chapter 11 - Bad Idea Just Keeps Getting Worse.

'Do what you feel in your heart to be right for you'll be criticized anyway' ~ Eleanor Roosevelt Daniella's P.O.V. This was a bad idea. That's the only thought that's been running through my frantic mind as I drove through the calm and quiet streets of Austin which is unusual for my town but I was really grateful for this right now because it means that I can get this over and done with without any obstacles being in my way. I knew that I was probably making a big mistake by doing this and even though the rational and smart parts of me were screaming at me to turn my car around and go back home, I knew that I couldn't do that because as pathetic as this may sound, I love Dante and a part of me always will love him. This is why I can't just walk away from him and ignore whatever he's going through because that isn't me, that's not the woman my parents raised. If my mom and dad were still alive today, then they'd tell me to do what my heart is telling me to do and right now, my heart is practically begging and pleading with me to go and help Dante. It's crazy, I know but what else am I supposed to do, huh?. If I leave him to drink himself stupid or even stupider than he already has done, then that means that I'm the uncaring and reckless one because what if something awful were to happen to him while he's drunk and alone? because his brothers don't seem to care about him. What if he gets into a fight and ends up getting arrested?. What if he decides to go for a ride on his bike or in his truck while he's drunk out of his mind and he ends up killing himself or someone else?. What if he gets alcohol poisoning or he chokes on his own vomit while he's sleeping?. There's also the more likely option of him tripping over his own mess in his room or in his office which he's skilled at doing when he's sober, so his chances of doing it when he's drunk are even higher, right?. Also, Dante's not exactly the poster boy for being calm and rational, not to mention that he's not the kind of man who thinks clearly when he's sober, especially when he's angry and in a bad mood, so you can only imagine what he's like when he's drunk. Like I said, I know this is crazy but it's something that I have to do because not only is it the right thing to do but also because it's necessary so that Dante and I can get some closure and move on with our lives, preferably without any alcohol involved on either side. Saying this felt like acid on my tongue because it's almost like I'm admitting that Enzo was right and I hate to give that man any credit for anything. Anyway, I was driving down the road when I saw the familiar curve which leads to the little boys club and i immediately took it. "Here goes nothing" I mutter to myself as I drove down the long, dark road until I saw the bright lights at the end of it which came from both the huge house and also the little fire that they've got going on outside of it. I'm not sure if it's safe to have a bonfire on a driveway where these guys are burning fuel all day long with their bikes but it's whatever. Not my monkeys, not my circus as my daddy used to say. I thought to myself as I drove up behind a line of my bikes which gained the attention of the men and women who were gathered around the bonfire. I automatically felt annoyed at having so many eyes on me, so I did something that I really didn't want to do. I picked up my phone and I called Lorenzo Junior. "Beast here" "Wow, that's not nice, namesake, I've come all this way to help you out and you're calling me a beast" I say and he chuckles. "That's my road name, principessa, just like Dante's road name is Venom" "Oh...that's cute" I guess. "Thanks" He says sounding like he's smiling. "Anyway, what can I do for you, tesoro? please tell me you're here or are at least close by because your man really needs you right now and so do the rest of us, baby girl" Oh my god. These men and their goddamn pet names. I thought to myself whilst rolling my eyes. "Yeah, I'm here and I've got some of your dogs gawking at me like I'm a piece of meat who they want to devour" "What do you mean?" He asked sounding angry. "I mean what I say, Junior" I said with a sigh. "If you want me to come in and help Dante, then I suggest you come out here and call your men off so that I can get in there without knocking their asses out like the last time I was here" I tell him and he once again laughs. "You do realise that my brothers haven't let those two guys live it down that they got their asses whooped by a girl ever since you stomped your little ass in here and did it, right?" "I've got a reputation?...that's good to know" I said with a smile. "Just don't tell them that their intoxicated leader is the one who taught me everything I know because that will really piss them off" I tell him and I swear I heard him mutter sneaky rat under his breath but he didn't say it in an angry or annoyed way, he said it in an amused way. "Now, about your dogs..." "Vipers, principessa, we're Vipers, not dogs" Junior said sounding both amused and annoyed as I rolled my eyes. "Snakes, dogs, I really don't care, just get them to retract their fangs before I do it for them" I say and he falls silent leaving me feeling confused and frustrated. "Junior, are you there?" I ask just as I heard a loud bang followed by a very angry voice. "HEY ASSHOLES!!, GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER'S CAR, RIGHT f*****g NOW!!" Enzo growled as Luciano came over to my car. "Thank god, you're here" Luciano said sounding relieved as I got out of my car and eyed up the confused gazes of the people who were now backing up away from my vehicle. "Where is he?" "He's in the bar" "Wait, what?" I growled as I glared at Luciano who was glaring at his friends. "Why's he still in the bar?" "Because he refused to leave, Dani...the man's become best friends with Jack and Jim" "Jack and Jim?" I ask in confusion. "Daniels and Beam, sweetheart" Oh. "Anyway, we tried to get him to go to bed but he refused to go without his kitten" Luciano said whilst rolling his eyes causing me to groan in frustration. Urgh!!, this freaking man. "Not to mention that he also threatened to take away the patch of every single man in that building if we made any more attempts to sober him up which I know means absolutely nothing to you but those patches are important to us, sorellina" "Oh trust me, Luciano, I know how important they are to you people" I said through gritted teeth as he smiled sadly at me. "Dani..." "I've gotta go" I said as I headed towards the stupid clubhouse. I then stormed inside and looked around at all of the angry and confused faces that were looking back at me because of my dramatic entrance which I ignored as I looked around for Dante who I found passed out in a drunken stupor in what looks like a satanic throne with his chin resting on his palm while his free hand was lazily holding an empty whiskey glass. Oh my god. I thought to myself as I rushed over to Dante and took the glass from him and placed it on the table next to him. I then cupped his face which felt rougher than usual and it wasn't just because of the slight bit of scruff that he's grown out. "Dante...Dante, wake up" I said whilst tapping his face. He didn't respond to me at first but eventually, he did as he looked at me with a slight yet very happy smile on his lips. "Baby" He whispered as he attempted to lift his hand up to touch my face but he failed which worried me. "Christ Dante, how much have you had to drink?" "It doesn't matter" He muttered a couple of times with a slur as he cupped my face with both of his hands. "It doesn't matter because my baby, my beautiful kitten is here with me" Dante said whilst kissing both my forehead and the side of my face as the smell of his favourite bourbon hit my nose making me feel nauseous. Hmm, that's weird. I love the smell of bourbon, why would it make me feel sick like that?. "Are you really here with me, kitten?" "Yes, I'm here with you, Dante" "That's my girl" He said barely above a whisper as he caressed my cheek with his thumb. "But why can I see two of you?" He asks as his face scrunches together in confusion. "Don't get me wrong, Dani baby, you're a beautiful sight to see and I can never get enough of you...I'm just confused as to why I'm seeing double right now?" He asks me and I chuckle slightly. "Blame the bourbon for that, Dante, you smell like you've been swimming in the stuff" I say with a sigh. "Why have you done this to yourself?" "Because I had a fight with my girl and she wouldn't speak to me" He said with a lazy smile. "We didn't have a fight, Dante, we broke up..." "No, we didn't" He cut me off whilst rapidly shaking his head. "A break up is between two consenting adults and I didn't consent to us breaking up, kitten" "That's s*x, you i***t" I said with a groan whilst rolling my eyes. "And you can't get drunk whenever you don't agree with something, for Christ's sake" "And why can't I?" He asked in annoyance. "Because it's immoral, that's why, not to mention, it's selfish" "What? how's it selfish, Dani?" "Are you being serious right now?" I growled as I glared at my ex. "Dante, I've got enough s**t going on in my life at the moment, the last thing that I need is to be worried about you or being called down here every five minutes to deal with your drunk ass" "You used to love me when I was drunk" He said with a pout which I chose to ignore because this was always his favourite trick to get me to do whatever he wants me to do or to get me to forgive him if he's done anything wrong. "Yes, I did because the s*x was always great when you were drunk" I said earning a smirk from Dante as five very angry growls were heard coming from behind me. What the?. I thought to myself as I turned around and glared at Enzo and his sons who were glaring back at us while the rest of the men and women were either smirking, smiling or laughing amongst each other which I could tell they were trying their hardest to hide from the angry Castello clan. "Anyway" I said with a groan as I turned back to face Dante. "I also loved it when you were drunk because the booze always made you feel sleepy which made it easier for me to watch my shows without you getting angry with me because I was, in your words, watching the hot guys on them instead of watching you" I said with anger and annoyance in my tone as Dante's smirk grew bigger and brighter. "What can I say? I'm a very jealous and possessive man when it comes to you, kitten" "You're an i***t and soon you'll be a dead i***t if you continue to drink yourself stupid like this" "Well, you know what to do to help sober me up, babe" He said and I nodded my head. "Yeah, I do...I need to get you into bed so that you can sleep of the alcohol" I tell him and he groans whilst sitting back in his chair and rubbing his forehead. "Enzo..." "We got you, principessa" He cut me off as Junior and Luciano came and picked up a disgruntled and annoyed Dante who fought them every step of the way. I then stood up as they tried to take him to his room but Dante had other plans as he grabbed hold of my hand and held it in a firm grip. "Dante, let go of my baby girl" "No, I won't, Enzo" He growled back at my biological father as he glared at him. "Either she comes with me or I'll kick all of your asses and then drink myself to death and you know I'll do it, brother" Dante growled at Enzo who looked over at me with a conflicted look on his face like he wanted to protect me but he didn't know how against an angry and possessive drunk. "It's ok, I'll go with him" I said as Dante's grip on my hand tightened. We then headed towards a barely lit hallway as my original thought from earlier on came back to me. I was right. Coming here was a bad idea.